1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to equipment for measuring a golfer's swing and, more particularly, to swing-monitoring equipment for measuring the tempo of a golfer's back swing along with the speed of the golfer's clubhead.
2. Prior Art
Perfecting and maintaining a good golf swing is challenging for both a beginning golfer and for a professional golfer. A key element of a good golf swing is consistency and uniformity. Uniformity is required for both the swing tempo and the clubhead speed at the time of impact with the ball. Swing tempo measures the overall pace of a golfer's swing and can be measured as the elapsed time between the time of take-away of the clubhead from the ball and the moment of impact of the club with the ball. For best performance, each club has a particular tempo and club-head speed.
Prior art equipment for measuring tempo and clubhead speed includes a fixed system which has a fixed overhead light source to illuminate a tee area. A patterned array of separate light sensors is embedded in the tee area. Each light sensor is normally illuminated by the overhead light source. When a golf club is swung through the tee area, light from the overhead source is blocked from various ones of the sensors so that tempo and clubhead speed can be measured. This fixed type of installation is expensive and lacks portability.
What is needed is a small, light-weight, portable, battery-operated, relatively inexpensive golf swing-monitoring device for a golfer to use to improve his or her swing at any location, such as on a practice tee or putting green.